How to remove stains

It was a splendid sunny day after very cold weather, so we decided to go on a trip to the hinterland: there is nothing like an outing to enjoy the spring warmth.

After an hour of travelling, admiring the verdant landscape, we decided to stop in a small village perched on the mountains. The narrow alleys are surrounded by colourful flowers, but the uphill climbs are incredible. Fortunately, there is a delicious smell in the air….yes, the sweetness of flowers but also of a lunch just taken out of the oven.

This is an invitation! The patio is intimate and cosy, they welcome us at once and they bring us a pitcher of great, slightly cool Sangiovese wine. They pour it in our inn glasses in a second but the toast is too vigorous and my shirt’s cuff is stained. That’s too bad…what shall I do now?

I’m already thinking that I need to throw away my shirt, but the owner helps me out: she brings me some salt. Salt??? What do I do with salt???

The lady, a 70 year old sweet granny, explains to me that salt can absorb the wine on my cuff. Well, I surely wouldn’t have thought salt could save my clothes!

You will not believe it: the stain got lighter and I didn’t have to throw away my dear shirt. Once I got home I cleaned it as usual and the stain went away. I really need to get back to that lady: a delightful lunch and a unique remedy for my shirt!

I was so happy that I thought at how many daily accidents can ruin in an instant not only a wonderful day but also clothes that we care about and that remind us of a lot of good memories.

That is why I thought it might be useful to give you some advice on how to eliminate difficult stains and save the clothes we love!

For example, I discovered that if we get an oil or grease stain, and also a coffee one, and we’re not home we can pour talcum powder on the stain to absorb the excess liquid. Then once we’re home we can pour wine vinegar on the stain and put the flatiron steam on the inside out part of the clothes. Once you clean it, the stain will be gone.

If you get a grass stain, you better use some alcohol: raw spirit and Marseille soap eliminate the grass on our clothes.

Alcohol can also help with the infamous lipstick stains: the trace of a kiss on our husband’s shirt won’t be a problem anymore…as long as it’s a kiss we gave him!

If you spilled drinks on your clothes, you can pour on the stain a solution of milk, lemon and alcohol: once you’ve cleaned them, the clothes will be back as new.

To remove ink stains you should tampon them with alcohol and wash the dress in salted water or water and wine vinegar.

Last advice to remove sweat stains

These particular stains have to be treated with wine vinegar and then you can normally wash the clothes in cold water. To eliminate the bad smell, immerse the t-shirt in water, wine vinegar and coarse salt for 30 minutes and then wash the clothes normally